1. Field of the Invention
The invention refers to a reversing device for movable parts of a railway switch within the deflection area of a railway switch, in particular tongue rails, monorail deflection devices or movable stock rails, in which device the movable rails can be caused to contact rigid switch parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a known construction having become known from AT-PS 328488 for supporting the wing rails, switch reversal was performed in the usual manner and a push rod extending in the shifting direction of the parts to be shifted- was connected with the respective parts to be shifted. From U.S. Pat. No. 1,269,444 there is already known an arrangement, in which movable rail parts adapted for being alternately brought in contact with a frog, are adjusted by wedges acting on the webs of the rails between rigid abutments on the sleepers. In such arrangements, the shifting drive means must articulatedly act on the wedges, because the wedges must be kept in contact on the rail web. Exact guiding of the adjusting mechanisms is not easily possible in such an arrangement and, above all, a defined end position can not easily be warranted. In the known arrangement, the wedges must be swivelled together with the movable rails and during such swivelling movement there result, on account of the geometry of the linking connection, length variations in the driving connection. The known arrangement thus appears to not afford the required safety for railway tracks being travelled upon with high speed.
For the purpose of adjusting movable parts of a railway switch within the deflection area of a switch, in particular for adjusting tongue rails, there were, up untill now, developed several switch drive means becoming effective in the direction of the shifting movement of the tongue rails. The just assumed end position was locked by means or corresponding locking means. A known example for such locking means is the so called clamp tongue lock.
It is in particular in case of switches to be travelled upon with high speed and having great radii of curvature that there result a number of problems not resolved up untill now when attempting a correct adjustment with such usual switch drive means. For example, adjustment of the switch at only one location by means of such a usual switch drive means is, as a rule, not sufficient for such high speed switches when attempting to maintain the desired great radius of curvature within a longer area and to warrant the capability for travelling with high speed. Multiplying conventional switch drive means for tongue rails results, however, in a number of calibration problems, because the corresponding drive means associated to the same tongue rail in the longitudinal direction thereof must be operated under conditions maintaining the required radius of curvature.